18 killed in traffic accident in Probolinggo, East Java

Sabtu, 28 Desember 2013 22:01 WIB | 1.369 Views

Probolinggo, East Java (ANTARA News) - At least 18 people were killed and 14 were injured following a collision between a trailer truck and a cargo truck in Tongas sub-district, Probolinggo, East Java on Saturday evening.

A morgue staff member at the Tongas general hospital, Agus Sudarsono, said 15 dead victims had been evacuated from the accident scene, while three others died while receiving emergency treatment in the hospital.

"The number of dead bodies from the incident in the morgue now totals 18," he said, adding that all victims have been identified.

Two of the 18 bodies belonged to children, he added.

According to sources, the cargo truck was carrying 32 people when the incident occurred.

East Java police command spokesman Senior Commissioner Awi Setiyono said, when asked for confirmation about the incident by Antara, "As of 6.30pm, 16 victims have been reported to have died and 16 others were injured. All of them have been taken to the hospital."

Regarding the cause of the accident, he said the police were still working to determine what occurred.

"The investigation is still underway. (We do not know yet) if it was caused by human error, poor road conditions, bad street lighting or poorly maintained roads. We are still investigating it, including why the cargo truck was being used to carry people," he said.

The head of the traffic police of the Probolinggo Resort Police Command, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Muklason said, "We are still investigating at the scene of the incident and collecting data about the victims. "